Pre-E3 2004: God of War - Preview

So what do you do for a living? Dairy Queen customer service representative, eh? That's cute. My name's Ares. I'm the God of War. You ever get into a fight with a War God? Want to go outside?

Typical interaction with Ares, Greek God of War, ends with the deaths of many people and creatures that are not Ares, but the Spartan warrior Kratos cares not for Ares' spotless win/loss record. Kratos is angry. Kratos is looking for Ares. Specifically, Kratos seeks the head of Greece's fabled War God so that he can jam it onto the pointy end of a pike and proudly display it next to his mantle, no doubt opposite a fern of some sort.

Not content with leading a life directed by his master -- the embattled tyrant god who none dare challenge -- Kratos seeks to end his torturous, gainfully employed days as a supernaturally empowered Spartan champion by taking out Ares, thus releasing himself from his obligation to endlessly battle under his boss's banner. Cutting down a War God is no easy feat, even for one as intimidating and skilled in the ways of murder as Kratos. A weapon of great power must first be sought before an affront can be made. Pandora's Box, a device that contains within it the collected evil of all the Earth, should do the trick.

Unfortunately for our angered protagonist, the Olympians charged a mad architect with constructing a temple to house this preposterously devastating contraption. Set atop the back of a wandering Titan lost amidst a vast desert and contained within a labyrinth of traps, puzzles and vicious enemies, the Olympians thought Pandora's Box would be safe. It seems gods of any age are not all knowing. Kratos seeks it -- seeks it to end his employ.

This quest will propel PS2 gamers through a variety of distinct, nightmarish and familiar, if totally unrecognizable locales. Though mythological scholars will find inconsistencies with David Jaffe of Twisted Metal fame's refurbishing of the beliefs they've studied for so long, players of God of War will better from the journey, experiencing a twisted, surreal adaptation of something that people once thought very, very real.

Not the fluffy myths taught by grammar schools and Disney channels across the land, God of War can be somewhat likened to the recent Lord of the Rings films. Similarly to how Peter Jackson took a property most naives of the world thought cartoonish and molded it into the strikingly real, emotionally charged Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Sony's David Jaffe envisions an ancient past of brutal realities, gritty environments and horrific beasts. As far from Hercules as can be, God of War's sell is a ruthless, dark and imaginative trek across a land we only know by names, songs, stories and wives tales.

With an art style reminiscent of Prince of Persia and a piece of proprietary technology to rival near any PS2 game, God of War certainly appears to have the aesthetic foundation to deliver such a disturbing series of events, but what excites us most is gameplay and how it promises to enhance an already provocative story.

At a glance, play seems distinctly Devil May Cry, but with a far deeper combination / juggling system. Combat breaks down into classic button mashing and freeform string development, almost Tony Hawk-like -- not in how moves are carried out, but in how near anything can be coupled with near anything else. Kratos uses his distinct blades -- bound to his massive club-arms by heavy chains -- to lash, rip, stab, slice, dice, stick, throw, and otherwise choke the life from opponents. Just as easily as he can wield these weapons, Kratos is capable of brutally beating down the senseless opposition with flurries of kicks and grapples. It's also possible to chain several attacks together, propel a character into the air, throw them down, ricochet them up, and batter them some more in mid-flight, eventually grabbing them a second time and hurling them to certain death. The result of all this freeform killing is fluid and exciting.